Thursday, 14 May 2015

Magazine

After consideration my magazine had to be changed and as such I created a new magazine based roughly off the design of the last magazine although I believe this one is superior.


Written evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The magazine that I have produced follows the conventions of a rock magazine, through the use of bold bright colours contrasting the dark/ black colours in the background. This contrast between light and dark is the soul element that features in the colour scheme of the rock genre.

The front cover of my magazine follows the basic conventions of a rock magazine cover, featuring the masthead at the top and placed behind the artists. However, the title of the magazine breaks the convention of the normal rock magazine’s masthead, and features quite a long title: Vintage punk.

This title was placed behind on of the band member’s heads and in front of the other members. This is based upon a 'Kerrang' magazine cover that featured the band with the same set-up.
 The band members are all featured together and looking into the camera. This is conforming to the common aspects of a punk rock magazine. They pose together in quite a casual manner, something that is common for rock, as they go against other magazines in their use of sexualising models to entice audiences. This means that unlike other magazines, the artists that feature are not sexualised.

 The contents page follows a mix of different conventions, taken from both punk rock magazine’s such as 'Kerrang' and also from the rock magazine: classic rock. The aspects taken from 'Kerrang' are from the simplistic layout of most of the contents page being on one page, and the aspects from classic rock are found more specifically in the descriptions given under each page number. The idea being that in 'Kerrang' they would simply put the name of a band that featured there, rather than a description about the page. The photo used is a mid shot of the lead guitarist looking directly into the camera, not creating a sexual representation rather than a caring and loving one, without the emphasis being on sex. This image is alone, but does contain a basic description which is a convention of most magazines that would not place an image without using a description.

The double page spread follows the codes and conventions of a punk rock magazine as the page itself has been based upon an actual 'Kerrang' style. The image centred on the page highlights the idea that the key focus of the magazine is the band itself, and the idea that the text surrounding it is all in relation to this band. Also following the codes and conventions of a rock magazine is the article, which is featured as an interview as well as a small article to accompany this in order for readers to be able to move onto other bands that are featured in the magazine. The first page uses an image of the lead guitarist in a small frame that is meant to represent a photo you would have signed by your favourite artist. The pink, handwriting-like font represents the signature of the artists and creates a more personal feel.

The second page features similar photo’s to the left page with black and white images being used to represent polaroid photos. These are not often found in magazines and so do not follow the conventions of photos in a magazine. I believe that the age range of 16-21 year olds would also recognise the polaroid enough to understand it’s relevance. The article contains details about the bands career, contrasting the interview which seems to focus on more social aspects such as what band members do to wind down. This follows the connotations of a rock magazine, as the audience would contain potential musicians which means that they would like to look at how a successful band achieved fame.

The final page of the magazine is a single page of images, being used as a poster. This is following the conventions of most rock magazines that appeal to 16 year olds. This is because, simply, people at that age want to cover their walls with posters. This page specifically features more dramatic photo’s of band members, such as a shirtless lead guitarist. And yet the focus is still not on sex as the key to a rock magazine is not to fully appeal to the male gaze.

Who would be the audience of your magazine?

The general age of the audience that may read this magazine ranges from 14 to 21.

This is the age in which 'Goths' truly start to develop their taste in music and start to buy magazines to find out more about this rock genre. The specific age of 14 could be younger, as maturity seems to be reached earlier for some and truly that is the point that people would start to buy this magazine for themselves.

The high percentage of the readers would be women as it is clear that whilst this genre musically may appeal to both males and females. This type of magazine, (based on 'Kerrang') is viewed by females, and the images that feature often show attractive male band members in positions that suggest confidence and a sex appeal that Gothic audiences (especially females) look for in these magazines. Although the truth normally comes down to the basic idea that these females want to read this magazine as they have a strong interest in music to release their passion

It being that the Gothic genre normally attracts the children of working class family’s it is easy to place this audience in a low social class. It is also clear that a large percentage of the money that these people earn goes into going to concerts and gigs. If they need (and need it because music is their passion, like most Goths) to buy music, it is clear that they may download it illegally if they cannot afford to pay for it.

The fans of this magazine would be typically explorers as it is clear that they would attempt to seek enlightenment in themselves, and being Gothic is all about finding out who you are and expressing that through song choices, tattoo's and Piercings
Social habits include:
Attending gigs
Listening to music
Often entering into Intimate relationships at an early age
Visiting locations that accommodate their shopping criteria e.g. Camden, Liverpool street market etc.

What type of institution would publish my magazine?

Publishers would choose my magazine as it would bring to the company an audience that they might not already have, as that would mean that more money would be pumped into their system.

The audience that comes with my magazine would be class D (students) females, who would appeal to the magazine for its nature of following male bands, and its use of pink as a secondary colour.

 The publishers that I believe would like to publish my magazine would be IPC media, as they not only lack a current female audience (with a range of male gaming magazines and lifestyle magazines such as NUTS), but their music magazine (NME) appears to appeal to an audience in a higher social grade, and so this new audience would appeal to them and open up opportunity for new development. The market share at the moment for magazines seems to be leaning towards female buyers, and not to market to them would not be a profitable endeavour. The publishers claim to be the number 1 publishers for magazines in the UK, boasting over 60 iconic brands. They are also known for their use of new media and technology in which they sell their magazines though, and also their boast that they interact with almost two thirds of the women in the UK.

The use of this company in comparison to one that might already market a magazine similar to mine, is that a publishing company would not want to have competition contained within itself and would benefit greatly from tapping into a completely new target audience.

To market and sell this magazine I intend to use all available technology and social media, as it is such a large part of our lives. In this sense I will be using virtually technology in order for people to be able to view the magazine on platforms like tablets, and even I mini version for iPods, as it is clear that the audience being such fans of music will have an iPod. There will also be marketing focused in certain areas, so there would be a large production focused on Camden and the surrounding area as it is the homeland of the target audience.

How did you attract/address your audience?
My magazine has been designed to sell well through the use of common attractive elements found in magazines featured in the punk-rock genre. The key selling point of any magazine is the featuring band/artist on the cover.

In this case the artists photo had been chosen in order to appeal to the Gothic audience. The image of the artist chosen displays him looking directly into the camera (something that would be a selling point to people who have heard of the band, similar to using a band like “Green day” for the same effect)

The use of bright contrasting colours (black and pink) means that the potential reader is drawn to the magazine instantly and would look into it potentially without knowing what it’s about. This applies to the younger audience as they appear to require something like a music magazine to both hide their emotions behind, but also display their emotions through the bright, almost florescent, colours.

The front cover also displays the more commercial side to the selling of the magazine, with the price being clearly labelled in the top right hand corner, in order for students to be able to make sure that they can afford the magazine, and at the low price of around £2.50 it ranges as one of the cheaper magazines on the market currently.

The contents page uses a long list of well-known artists as an attempt to show off their resume to the band-knowing audience. The uses and gratifications of the genre audience follow the need to know as much about as many bands as possible. Continuously referencing other bands seems to be popular in magazines like 'Kerrang' and classic rock as the audience would appreciate the idea that the bands are all close.

The contents page of my magazine also features a QR code, used in order to link the magazine with more modern technology and to ensure that it assures itself a place in the future of the magazine industry which will be rapidly heading closer and closer to an entirely virtual experience. The QR code leads to a video of behind the scenes footage of the band’s latest photo-shoot.

The poster that features at the end of the magazine is an easy way to draw in the poster collecting fans that come with the genre, and that means also that the magazine comes with a more practical element to it, meaning that readers will find it more appealing to pay £2.50 for something that comes with freebies. The use of free items appeals to the younger side of the audience, although at the same time, older readers (ranging from around 18-21) might still be interested in posters of their favourite band, especially if they could get them signed.






What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

Being that my entire magazine has been presented using Indesign, I have learnt to use this professional software from scratch. Using, tools such and gradient for backgrounds, and using boxes to separate my text out into a readable layout. This was important as the magazine itself required lots of layout techniques in order for everything to fit smoothly together. Indesign was a helpful, if a little irritating, as it allowed me to place images into specific boxes in order to layer the magazine to ensure effects (like one band member being in-front of the masthead) could be done.

 The equipment used in the Photo shoot is described in the two slides below. The equipment was highly technical, and for specific shots I had to move lighting and the models in order to achieve the best quality image. The use of this equipment on the photo shoot meant that I was able to learn a lot more about how to use it professionally.

Each photo/title that is featured in my magazine had to be edited, and filters added. One such technique for editing was to pain eyelashes, using a specific tool, onto one of my models. Another tool was the filters tool, used to convert the front cover image of my band from a regularly shot image to one that was black and white whilst tinted blue, to reflect the connotation of a lone male artist. The benefits of using technology such as Photoshop means that anything that cannot be fixed on the photo shoot (such as spots or the length of eyelashes) can be fixed with very specific tools. For example, there is a tool I used that is designed specifically to remove spots by collecting colour from the surrounding area.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I believe that my media product represents the social group of Gothic rock bands fans as relaxed and yet also serious.

It is a connotation for those who choose to follow a Gothic fashion to choose a serious style, therefore in the photo's of Nat that I have chosen, he is pulling a very serious expression. The photo's were also tinted in order to become darker, and shot with a dark background in order to continue with the theme.

This was done through the bands stance as the images of them messing around together on camera seem to introduce the concept that this band is very relaxed with each other, the idea being that gothic bands are very close as they often start as friends before they become a band. The facial expressions that are present throughout are not serious, as although the genre can bring about some serious artists, at this point the artists I have chosen to review do not fit that description

The use of props during the photo-shoot such as the large top hat, gave the impression of quite a comical element to the band, as in a couple of shots the hat is clearly too large for Emily. The use of a guitar and bass guitar in shot helps the audience relate to band members based on what they­­­ do in the band, as it is apparent from research into the genre that different people appreciate different band members such as the lead guitarist, bass etc. Other ideas behind this type of shot could be that the band has dominance when wielding their instatements, this was conveyed through the use of low angle shots and the calm, in-control expression on the artists face.

The colour scheme featured in my magazine is predominantly black and pink, the idea being that these contrasting colours are a representation of passion and vibrancy, being the idea that rock-stars show a lot of passion for their work, just as their fans show lots of dedication to the genre overall.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Throughout the process of making my magazine, from preliminary to main piece, i have learnt many things, from using in-design, to the use of Photoshop to remove spots from my models. This range of skills first started developing as soon as the preliminary task began, with my first hands-on experience when using a camera, and then using in-design to place and write my opening cover and the cell lines that accompany it. Besides technology, I have also learnt a lot about the work that goes into creating a magazine, and I have been improving on most of these aspects constantly. The aspect I must say that I have improved the most upon would have to be my Photoshop skills, having gone from a student who could barely use a gradient tool, to enhancing the eyelashes of a female artist I had shot in a photo-shoot just days earlier. The use of YouTube in this helped greatly, as at all times (at home or between lessons) if I was unsure or just ignorant to how to do something, I could look up a tutorial quickly and get started on learning how. The help of my peers and teachers also became very helpful in learning new techniques such as feathering an image to remove the backgrounds and then the placement of the images into my magazine.

For my preliminary task, I went out with my group and we took a range of about 15 shots, featuring both landscape and horizontal shots, and then chose from these the shots that I felt would best represent a school magazine, one being a shot of the school itself, and another being a shot of me and Natalie outside whilst we use an iPad to do school work. These shots were then edited with the gradient tool in order to blend them into the background and also allow for the writing to be clearly visible.

Over the top of this I used in design to allow me to write the title of my magazine over the top of this image, and then using the same text tool I was able to add cell lines down the side of the magazine.

From this, I was able to grasp the basic skills used within in-design, and I put these to use in my later music magazine when I had place many more images, and a lot more text, in. When taking photo’s, from my first experience I learned that taking more photo’s makes it easier to choose from them later in the editing stage, and so I took around 150 shots. Then chose to use around 20 of those photos based upon how they look with my article, contents page and also my poster that is included in my magazine.

Through learning to use Photoshop more in-depth, I have been able to improve upon the images I have taken. For the contents page it was important that I was able to create a wider range of images for the effect of creating a fuller magazine that features not just one Artist but a range of bands.

 When creating my contents page for my school magazine, the simplicity of placing one image and then adding a long list of text that described what would be featured late in the magazine created a simplistic feel to the magazine that meant that later, when I had to work on creating my music magazine, I would be able to take this basic knowledge and put it to use. This was done through the use of filters in Photoshop. Meaning that even if a photo was of a similar artist on the page, then they would not look as similar.